Chapter 6 - THE DEAD MAN’S ALGORITHM"Facility lockdown initiated. Purge sequence active in ten minutes."
The synthesized, mechanical voice of Arthur Vance—their patriarch, who had died of a massive stroke three years prior—echoed through the intercom system with terrifying clarity.
"It’s a recorded fail-safe," Marcus shouted, slamming his fist against the reinforced keypad of the elevator. "The old man programmed the bunker to incinerate itself if anyone ever breached Level 9 without his personal voice print!"
Elena pulled Sophie tight against her chest, her eyes widening with panic. "Damian, the firewall isn't external. It’s tied to the biometric neural network in the penthouse above. If we don't disable the core mainframe within nine minutes, this entire tower becomes our tomb."
Damian didn't hesitate. He stripped off his suit jacket, tossing it onto the metal table, and unholstered his Sig Sauer. "Marcus, take Elena and Sophie to the armored freight lift at the end of the hall. Use Bear’s collar to override the pneumatic valves."
"What about you, boss?" Marcus asked, leveling his rifle toward the dim corridor ahead.
"I’m going up to the penthouse," Damian said coldly, his eyes narrowing as he stared up at the emergency stairwell shaft. "It’s time to have a final conversation with our dear departed father."
As Damian sprinted up the spiraling concrete stairs, two floors above, a shadowy figure stepped out onto the landing, holding a heavy-duty industrial EMP generator.
It was Julian Reyes. His face was smeared with soot, his shirt torn at the shoulder, but his eyes gleamed with manic triumph.
"You’re too late, Damian!" Julian laughed, slamming the EMP unit against the primary junction box of the stairwell lighting. "The old man’s system isn't just a kill-switch. It’s a global data broadcast. Every secret the Vance family ever buried—every offshore account, every illegal bioweapon contract, every blood debt—is uploading directly to every international intelligence agency on the planet right now!"
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Damian didn't slow down. He drew his pistol, aimed through the metal railing, and squeezed the trigger.
HOOK: The bullet struck the EMP unit dead center, but instead of disabling it, the device triggered a massive electrical feedback loop that unlocked the penthouse doors—revealing that the person sitting in the patriarch's executive chair wasn't an AI recording at all.
